Gainesville has gained a reputation for being a city on the cutting edge of clean energy technology. Gainesville Regional Utilities, the city’s primary energy provider, has demonstrated a clear and consistent commitment to developing alternative energy sources.
According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Gainesville is “among the world leaders” in solar energy per capita. The Gainesville Renewable Energy Center, a biomass plant that began operation in December 2013, is another example of the city’s commitment to encouraging the use of clean energy.
Despite GRU’s innovations, the company continues to rely on one of the most noxious and environmentally devastating energy resources in America: coal extracted through the practice of mountaintop-removal (MTR) mining.
Gainesville may not be near any mountains, but it participates in the vicious cycle of MTR all the same. The Deerhaven Generating Station, Gainesville’s coal-fired power plant, uses MTR coal from a number of Appalachian sources.
MTR is exactly what it sounds like; energy companies set up shop on a mountain in Appalachia — West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and other southern states — and then use explosives to blow the mountain’s top off.
The practice of MTR allows coal to be extracted more quickly and efficiently, but it also has dire consequences for the environment and for the health of surrounding populations.
Mountaintop-removal mining usually takes place near impoverished communities in rural Appalachia. The toxic chemicals released during the MTR process find their way into the local populations’ supply of drinking water. Those who cannot afford to purchase a constant supply of bottled water are forced to drink water that may be extremely hazardous to their health.
The effects of MTR on the communities of Appalachia are devastating. People who live in areas where large-scale MTR occurs have lower average life expectancies, higher rates of lung cancer and other serious and disproportionate health concerns.
The harmful effect that MTR has on the people of Appalachia demonstrates this is a social problem as well as an environmental one. GRU has already begun to phase out its use of coal, especially coal obtained through MTR, but a gradual decline in this practice is simply not enough.
Tonight, the Gainesville City Commission will vote on a proposal advanced by Commissioner Lauren Poe to end GRU’s use of MTR coal. Poe will need “Yes” votes from at least three other commissioners for the policy to take effect. The commission previously voted unanimously to condemn the practice of MTR, but condemning the practice and actually ending Gainesville’s role in it are two very different things.
The commission has an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the nation by voting to end Gainesville’s use of coal produced through MTR. Eliminating Gainesville’s role in this harmful and devastating practice is a step toward a cleaner and safer environment for all Americans.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 9/18/2014 under the headline "City Commission must vote to end MTR coal use"]
